Mechanical Properties of Bone Ex Vivo

The primary functions of bone are mechanical: to provide support and protection. The aim of this chapter is to set out some of the methods that can be used to measure these properties in cortical and cancellous bone from large (e.g., human or bovine) and small (e.g., mouse) animals. The difference between the properties of the sample (intrinsic properties) and the properties of the material (extrinsic properties) is introduced and techniques for measuring them are suggested. The addition of other tests to give a complete characterization of a bone sample is presented.